It was easily the most depressing day of free agency since 1995 for the Flyers.
A day when all GM Ron Hextall could do was sit and watch the parade go by, knowing he didn't have enough money to join in.
Here's his conference call transcript courtesy of the Flyers:
Frustrating day for you?
"No, not really," Hextall replied. "To be honest with you, July 1 is one of those days where we all can get carried away. I look on my board here and look at our team, and we’ve got a good team. Sometimes this day, you make some of the poorest decisions you make, and quite honestly we didn’t have to think it through that hard. We’ve got a couple guys we’re still looking at if we get them in the right range – one guy specifically – so, there’s still things you can do. We added a depth player today up front that should help us. Obviously bringing Ray back, I think bringing Ray back was a move that we considered all along. He was an option for us, and I think his relationship with Steve Mason certainly played into it. I think Ray’s a good fit for us on a one-year deal.
Was today one of those July 1sts where you saw some really crazy decisions?
"Yeah, I think there’s decisions – this is the day where a lot of times you do something and you have buyer’s remorse. But it’s hard… you have a lot of holes to fill. Back in LA a few years ago, we were in that position where we had a lot of holes to fill, and it’s hard to fill all your holes in a cap world in free agency. Again, it’s one of those days where sometimes you look back and you did something good – I think there’s some good buys in the market – but there’s some other ones that are inflated.
On Ray’s relationship with Steve Mason:
"Yeah, it’s an important thing. I’ve been on teams where the goalies don’t get along and sometimes it can divide the team and it’s not a good working relationship. I think with Ray and Mase getting along so well and kind of both knowing their roles, it obviously worked well for us last year and we expect the same thing this year.
On signing a depth forward:
"We’ve agreed with Blair Jones on a two-way deal. A depth player for us that should help fill in if we have the need and need the depth.
Was there ever a point where Ray wasn’t necessarily in your plans?
"Well, we had a couple guys in mind, and then it comes down to money. I was very comfortable with Ray. If he was the only guy in the market I would have been comfortable with him. We know him, we know what he’s all about, we know his work ethic, we know what kind of team guy he is, and we felt very comfortable with him right from the start.
Were you in at all on T.J. Brennan?
"We would have had interest in him. Quite honestly we’ve been working at a number of other things, but we would have had interest in him. But typically the guys that go the first day are guys that teams covet, and some players when you don’t have a lot of space, you covet other guys. We still have a player that we covet right now, we’ve been working on that, and also been talking to other GMs trying to move things around a little bit. It’s been a busy day and you don’t get to everything that you want to get to. But I guess the short answer to your question is did we have interest, yes, but right now we have nine defensemen penciled in at the minor league level and we view him as a depth defenseman.
On Emery taking a pay cut:
"They knew the position we were in. It’s tight for us, so I think in trying to be fair with Ray, would we have liked to have a guy lower than that – yeah, we would have. But that’s kind of the market, and I think Ray stretched down for us, and certainly we appreciate that. We tried to get him everything we could, and tried to be fair and treat him with respect.
Will you pursue any restricted free agents?
"We wouldn't’ be able to anyway, but that wouldn't be high on my priority list, no.
How easy is it going to be to clear some cap space?
"It’s not going to be easy. I think a lot of people filled up today and that’s always what happens July 1. It’s not going to be easy. We’ll continue to chip away and work away, and we’ll find a way.
What role do you think Rob Zepp can have with Anthony Stolarz in his first pro year?
"He’s really developed into a really good goaltender. We’ve seen him a couple years at the World Championships and over in Europe, and he’s really developed. He’s in his 30s, he’s not a young guy anymore, but he’s real hungry to come back over and give it a shot. We felt like he was a real good fit with us, giving us the type of depth – you think you’ll never get to your third goalie, but you see situations where teams do and it’s a little bit unnerving. So we feel very comfortable with him if he’s got to come up and play games for us. We’re excited about it. We want to have a competitive team in the Lehigh Valley there, and Rob’s going to be a big part of it. Some of his knowledge, if in fact Anthony’s there – and that’s not a given, we’ll see how things work out through training camp, and if he needs playing time we’ve got other options, but if we feel he can play in the American league and that’s the best situation for him, I’m sure Rob will be a big help for him.
On if the market changed for Vincent Lecavalier with the day’s signings:
"I’m sure it changed a little bit because all of a sudden players are in place, so I’m sure that’ll change things a little bit, and it also might flush things out. Maybe a team or two now that thinks they didn’t have a need, will, but again, we’ve got nothing imminent on Vinny. We’ll keep looking at the situation and like I said, deal with it internally, and if there’s something to report we’ll get it back to you guys, but as far as I’m concerned right now, Vinny Lecavalier could be in a Flyer uniform in September.
Will that be awkward?
"Not at all. Vinny’s a pro, and we’re pros, and I think you guys all know we’ve had discussions, but he’s been nothing but a pro.
On adding a depth defenseman:
"We’d like to add a guy. We all know how things change and players get injured, so yeah, we’d like to add a veteran defenseman if we can."
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For more on the day and the Flyers, check out CSNPhilly.com:
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